Let's say you're not hungry...

2

Replies

  • SakuraRose13
    SakuraRose13 Posts: 621 Member
    IF I eat when Im not hungry just to make up calories I end up going over, so no I don't try to anymore my body knows what it needs ,I just need to listen carefully.

    There is bored eating that's me and oh that's looks tasty ex: a piece of pie and well that's how I kept the weight on to begin with .

    I'm 4ft 10 in so my calories are fairly low but it works for myself, when Im at my goal weight they will raise again ,but that's only 300 more than I intake now.

    What works for me may not work for you to each its own.
  • prgirl39
    prgirl39 Posts: 108
    No. I do not eat.
  • emstethem
    emstethem Posts: 263 Member
    I have this problem as well..I'm a protein junkie, so I'm never hungry...and I can eat WAY LESS calories than I should and be fully satisfied... :( bad habits die hard...bump for later...I'm interested to read the responses to this post as I have the same questions myself...sometimes I go to bed feeling guilty for not eating enough calories, but I'm just not hungry, and I don't want to force myself to eat! Forcing myself to eat when I'm not hungry seems like it would be too much like forcing myself into an eating disorder...but then maybe I already have one since I seem to have an addiction to protein... :(
  • emstethem
    emstethem Posts: 263 Member
    Yes, it depends on how many calories with me, too. If I'm missing 100 or something, I don't bother. If it's 500, I'll have something, usually something small but high calorie.

    I like this response. :) This seems like a good remedy to the problem. :) What snack would you suggest that is small yet high calorie?
  • erulasse
    erulasse Posts: 141 Member
    I work my calories out by week (helps if I have any bad days) so if I can't make my goal one day, I have another 6 to make up for it!
  • emstethem
    emstethem Posts: 263 Member
    Just a thought....I agree with everything people are saying about not forcing yourself to eat and for that I agree. However is it not good to eat your light meals to regulate your metabolism? Perhaps that is a myth....can someone clarify this for me

    Oh, gosh, I've researched and researched info on regulating metabolism (because I am hypothyroid) and I just don't know what to believe when it comes to that topic anymore...maybe my protein addiction has slowed my metabolism...maybe I need to eat "warm" foods since I have a "cold" illness (chinese medicine calls slow thyroid a "coldness" illness...) and it would seem to be true because cold weather vegs seem to aggravate my condition...broccoli, collards, turnips, brussel sprouts all slow my thyroid down if I eat too much of them...but peppers (think jalapeno poppers! :D ) are supposed to be great for my condition... I don't think that WHEN you eat has as much to do with regulating metabolism as much as WHAT you eat does... but I don't know for sure. :)
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    Yes, it depends on how many calories with me, too. If I'm missing 100 or something, I don't bother. If it's 500, I'll have something, usually something small but high calorie.

    I like this response. :) This seems like a good remedy to the problem. :) What snack would you suggest that is small yet high calorie?
    I can tell you what I go for--nuts. I usually keep a couple of cans of nut mix in the house, and a serving runs 140-180 calories. Really easy to nibble through a serving (or two, if necessary) while watching TV.

    If I don't feel like eating anything, a 12-ounce glass of juice or milk will run 150-200 calories depending on type--that's often enough to bring me close enough to goal.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,855 Member
    ... and it's the end of the day, and you haven't eaten all the calories you're "supposed" to. Do you force something down to meet your goal, or just chalk it up to a light day and go to sleep?

    Does your answer change depending on how many calories we're talking?
    No. It took me a while to realize that my daily calorie goal is an average, not something I hit daily. Sometimes I'm over and sometimes I'm under.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member

    It's listening to your body that got most people in trouble. They knew mentally what was good and bad idea, but followed the body's lead.

    Absolutely not. Of course I don't know about anyone else, but when I was indulging in too much food, I was definitely NOT listening to my not hungry body.

    I say if you're not hungry, but you've still eaten a decent amount for the day, don't force yourself to eat. It will even out in the end on days when you're more hungry.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Assuming a basically healthy diet, you never should force yourself to eat if you're not hungry and feel good. The exception would be if you were sick, in which case you might eat a bowl of healthy broth or soup.
  • jinna86
    jinna86 Posts: 93
    This happens to me! Sometimes, at the end of the day, I'm not really that hungry but I still have snacks planned (I pre-plan everything except eating out days). I find that if I don't eat my snacks, sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling, which can be very irritating. So, even if I'm not hungry, I'll make myself eat at least some portion of my snacks so I can sleep the night through without waking up hungry.
  • JanetP124
    JanetP124 Posts: 50 Member
    I'm never hungry in the morning and I force myself to eat breakfast. If I don't, I'm too hungry at lunch and tempted to overeat then.

    I never force myself to eat at the end of the day.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Nobody else seems to have brought this up, but are you sure you're actually under your goal? Are you weighing your food? People often eyeball their portions or go by volume instead of weight, and they underestimate the amount they are eating. Your diary is locked so I cannot tell how precise you are about your logging.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    This said, it is important to eat enough to fuel your body. If you consistently under-eat, your body will respond by slowing down your metabolic functions. If this leftover calorie thing happens to you all the time, you need to plan your day better, perhaps by eating more calorie-dense foods earlier in the day.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    If I'm having a day I'm not terribly hungry, I plan in higher calorie foods. This way, I meet my goal but I'm not shoving food down my throat all day. These are also the days I indulge in pasta, cookies, or maybe some fast food haha.
  • Zeade
    Zeade Posts: 25
    No not really I typicaly eat about 1300 cals through the week and 1000 on the weekend when I should be getting 1200 every day but oh well
  • thisgirlhere
    thisgirlhere Posts: 27 Member
    I drink wine.

    :drinker:
  • 08kat
    08kat Posts: 51
    I do not eat if I am not hungry, even if I am under daily calorie goals.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    If I'm under calories (which doesn't happen often) that usually means I'm under on protein as well, so I'll drink a protein shake.

    But yeah, I agree with the person who said that "I'm just not hungry - do I have to eat?" is a common question by anorexics of which there are many on this site. So be mindful about throwing out advice like "Just listen to your body and only eat when you're truly hungry!" when you don't know the context of the question or who's reading the answers.
  • eresin
    eresin Posts: 104 Member
    I don't eat the calories if I'm not hungry.

    Eating when I'm not hungry is part of the reason I'm overweight.

    this.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If you are willing to follow the advice to listen to your body and not eat when not hungry those missing out on a huge amount of calories on regular basis, at least listen to it when it says it's hungry and you will be going over goal.

    That advice should apply both directions, right?

    This whole thing on listen to your body not being smart applies to vitamin or mineral deficiencies too.
    Vast majority of those issues don't show up on day to day basis, but eventually something bad starts happening or is noticed, you get tested, and low and behold, your diet has been lacking in something very important.
    Your body never told you. At that point down the road when discovered, you could easily already have had some ill effects from it.

    Same with too much deficiency of calories on regular basis. May not notice the ill effects of it today or tomorrow, but down the road, like after 9 months of plateau and stressed out about no weight loss, or hair falling out, ect, ya, then ill effects to correct if possible.

    1 day a week, it'll balance out hopefully if you are willing to eat over on another day. Majority of days in a week, you've screwed up your hormones already.
  • tuathanari
    tuathanari Posts: 38 Member
    Thanks for the replies everyone.

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    I was debating with myself last night about it, the responses helped a lot. You're right, it is an average, and some days I do go over. I'll start looking at my weekly average and making sure that's on the level.

    For those worrying about anorexia/eating disorders, I have a healthy relationship with food, but I agree that you never know who's posting or reading responses so I agree it's good to be mindful. Just wanted to throw that out there.

    As far as accurate logging, I'm not 100% sure that I was being accurate to begin with, so I tended to overestimate, actually. Just got a scale though so I should have a pretty clear picture from now on.
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
    I don't eat when I'm not hungry...Eating when I'm not hungry and for some other reason is a BIG reason I got up to the weight that I did. And I eat when I am hungry as long as it doesn't put me over by more than 300, figure my calories will balance out at the end of the week
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,023 Member
    Lots of people hiding Eating Disorders behind posts like this looking for approval for not eating. With that out of the way, it happens periodically, and there's no reason to eat if your not hungry.
    THIS.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • carlos13th
    carlos13th Posts: 40 Member
    If I was trying to gain weight I would force it.

    I am trying to lose it though so I only eat when I am hungry. Sometimes this means I go over my calorie goal, but most of the time it means I am under.
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
    Sometimes I will drink a glass of orange Juice if I'm not hungry. 110 calories and no fat.
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
    I never force myself to eat when I'm not hungry. Going under your calorie goal, even by a huge margin, every once is a while is not going to kill you in the long run. In fact, it might even help balance out a day where you went over your daily goal.
  • medivac618
    medivac618 Posts: 4
    I'd say as long as you don't have any eating disorder concerns you shouldn't worry about it. If you do eat, a higher protein snack would be a good idea

    Be careful! You may wake up super hungry and fall into the trap of 'making up' for yesterday's calories. Stick to the goal calorie amount for every day regardless of what you have done the day before and you should be ok.
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
    I don't eat the calories if I'm not hungry.

    Eating when I'm not hungry is part of the reason I'm overweight.

    Though one might argue that you shouldn't get to that point of being hungry, you should prevent it. Otherwise binging lurks around the corner.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Just go to sleep. As long as you're not way under on a regular basis, nothing wrong with that.
  • aFootballLife25
    aFootballLife25 Posts: 63 Member
    Go to sleep, wake up, enjoy breakfast.

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